Behind The Mask
by Flutiez
Summary: Everyone knows that a simple hug from a certain person can melt a cold heart. The memories filled with needed-forgotten pain has nearly got his turned to ice. Warmth is what he needs, but he just longs, never reaches out to another's arms. . . .


**Hello everyone! This is my very first Fanboy And Chum Chum fic, and I hope it turns out good for you guys. I wanted to do a note here at the top, which is something I don't normally do, because I wanted to let you all know that this fic will be wrote on growing comprehension of Fanboy. The point of view is extremely based on his mind over certain years. **

**Now, onto other things: It took me two days to write this through. I don't own Fanboy And Chum Chum at all but right now I'm too lazy to go look up who created the show to begin with, so you won't see his/her name now, sorry, deal with it :3 Seriously, this site is made for the soul purpose of FANFICTION! FANBASED MATERIAL! There is no possibility of us getting sued even if we don't put up a disclaimer, as long as we don't claim the show or whatever as our own.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

_Behind The Mask:_

~Five years old~

Mommy and Daddy always got really loud when they came home late at night. Fanboy would be sleeping and having nice dreams where he was flying with Man-Arctica when Mommy and Daddy came home after being somewhere he didn't know about. They always were toppling over each other and laughing at things that Fanboy didn't see.

He wondered what was so funny, and then one day Fanboy found a bottle full of orangey stuff. He sipped it and even though he didn't like it, he still had some more because he knew it was that orangey drink that made Mommy and Daddy laugh even when there was no joke.

The stuff made him all dizzy and feel sickish, and then he learned after feeling a very bad pain in his head that the drink wasn't very good for him at all. Why did Mommy and Daddy like it so much? It tasted really bad! It was like when Fanboy accidently tasted the soap from the bathroom, only this stuff tasted different.

Some days though Mommy and Daddy weren't all silly and they watched Fanboy play with his toys. They were the days Fanboy loved most because everyone was happy and Daddy wasn't hitting Mommy and Mommy wasn't crying.

And they were also the days when Daddy would take Fanboy to the park. At the park, Fanboy made lots of friends, but they didn't seem to like him very much either. But one little girl, a kid littler than him even, played with him anyway. Her name was Yo and she was very nice and cute. Fanboy liked her a lot, and she like him a lot. They were the bestest of friends!

Fanboy loved the park so much, even when Yo had to go home even though Fanboy didn't want her to. He stayed there until he was very sleepy and Daddy would take Fanboy home and Fanboy got to curl up in his bed and sleep.

But the next day wasn't so good. Mommy was crying a lot again and that made Fanboy sad because he always thinks it's because of him. On days like that he wanted to hide under his bed and play with his toys until Mommy and Daddy stopped yelling at each other.

Then one day, on a very special day, Fanboy learned that some new people moved in to the apartment building where he and Mommy and Daddy lived. They had a tiny kid with them, one with fluffy brown hair and was also very chubby. Fanboy tried to say hi to the kid, but the kid, who was even smaller than Yo, just stared at Fanboy and smiled. But it was okay because he knew the kid-baby was very happy. And Fanboy was happy.

Fanboy got to play with the baby, Chum Chum, sometimes. But sometimes Fanboy would break Chum Chum's toys by accident and Chum Chum would get very mad at him and wouldn't want to play anymore. Fanboy always felt bad about that, because he was always dropping things or falling over stuff a lot. Sometimes Mommy would get very mad when that happened, too, and she would spank Fanboy.

And then Fanboy went to kindergarten. Yo was there too and that was fun. Chum Chum couldn't come with him because he was too little. But it was okay because Fanboy still had Yo to play with and sit next to during coloring time and sleep next to during nap time.

Yo talks about how much she likes Chum Chum and that she wants to play with him too, but Fanboy doesn't want to share Chum Chum because Yo seems weird when she's around him. It scares him a little, but only a little.

* * *

~Eight years old~

Fanboy doesn't live with Mom and Dad anymore. The police came and took them away after a neighbor called them and told them how Dad was beating Mom again. Mom was hurt so bad that Fanboy didn't recognize her, not that the amounts of no food or sleep due to drug abuse didn't help with that the past year or so.

And so now, instead of living in the orphanage like he's supposed to, Fanboy lives up in his Fanlair with six-year-old Chum Chum, who hangs out with him there almost all the time. That's good, considering that Yo doesn't play with him much anymore. She just loves Chum Chum and not Fanboy, who still loves her very much but doesn't tell her because he knows how much Yo likes Chum Chum more. It's all alright, because they're all still friends and that's what matters to Fanboy more than anything; his friends.

He knew how much Mom and Dad messed up their lives. Fanboy had to learn to walk to school and the park and the Frosty Mart by himself when Mom and Dad wouldn't take him anymore. And they started hitting Fanboy: Scars, and bruise stains like oil paint covered him all over, and so he wore his favorite costume and shoes to cover them up so no one saw them.

Not even Chum Chum knew how hurt he was on the inside and the outside, because Fanboy was happy and smiling all the time like he wasn't hurt in the heart.

Fanboy really liked comic books. It was like they talked to him: The colors and the super heroes, they all made him feel warm inside, because it told Fanboy that strong people were out there in the world and that there was someone out there who could care about him other than Yo and Chum Chum.

But then there was Boog and Lenny. Boog was strong like the super heroes in his comic books, but Boog was mean and didn't use his strength to help other people. Boog was just like Dad. Lenny wasn't strong, he was very skinny like Fanboy, but he was still mean too and a lot like Mom, always pointing out the mistakes Fanboy made and the messes he should clean up.

It made Fanboy beyond sad to know that no matter where he went, he found people that were the like the same monsters of humans that partly raised him.

* * *

~Twelve years old~

_Yo likes Chum Chum so much, why is that?_

Fanboy gets very mad when he thinks like that. Mad and sad. Heh, that rhymed.

Why didn't Yo like him anymore? They used to play together all the time when Dad used to take Fanboy to the park all those years ago; she liked him and only him, what happened? Why was everything so topsy-turvy nowadays?

All these questions, all of them never answered; all these questions, and none of them solving any problems. It was nothing but questions in Fanboy's head now. Most about Yo. _Why_ was such an over-used word that it was beginning to lose its meaning. It was more like a simple sound to begin his rage than a word anymore.

He plastered on a fake smile over a sad face. He needed someone, but his heart was kept cold without human embrace. His heart needed to be melted, and that happened whenever he thought about Yo, but then it started to boil when he got mad at her for reasons he didn't really know.

He was thinking about getting rid of the costume. All of his bruises were fading to almost his natural skin color, and his scars were nothing but wisps across his back and legs. But his costume, for many years, had almost been like a fortress of secrecy, a tight body-fitting place where no one would see the marks left behind from his suckish childhood.

When he went to school without the costume, everyone thought he was a new student. This made him so furious that he stayed on the steps outside on the playground that led to the cafeteria, not talking to anyone. Chum Chum asked what was wrong, but Fanboy just replied saying he was tired and that he wanted to be alone.

In all that time of being alone, he found memories that seemed like they didn't matter. But considering they were in his head anyways, that obviously meant that they did matter in some way. He remembered when he first met Yo, finally noticing her more clearly out of the small group of kids, after being kicked out of a game of tag.

Yo talked to him and told him her name, and he told her his. From that moment on they were friends, but now it was different. . .

* * *

~Seventeen years old~

For the first time in nine fucking years, Fanboy got to see his parents again. They were different, looked older, rougher than they ever had been. But they still hugged him close. Very close. It didn't melt his heart like it should have . . . but it was still so lovingly warm.

"Galen," his mother said in a tone like silk, saying his real name, something that was so distant and lost to him, "we're so sorry. We could have—we _should_ have—treated you better. We were terrible parents, and I know it's late, but I want you to know that we love you very much."

They were divorced now, but still talked. Fanboy found it all so strange. They just got out of prison, rented an apartment in another town for a while to get themselves back into order. How did they suddenly just become good people? How did they just leave their troubling pasts behind like that? Was it because he was no longer there . . .?

Fanboy felt like crying, he felt like screaming in her face and running away. But he loved them too, and he saw the same twinkle in their eyes that he used to see when they watched him play with his action figures. He knew this was real, even though it didn't feel that way. His parents were here, what else was there to say? He was beyond pissed at them, but he knew they meant well, they always had. They were just . . . good at screwing things up . . . like Fanboy himself.

"I love you guys too," he said softly into his mother's shoulder when he hugged her. He had grown maybe a foot taller than her at least; it was hard to get a good hug. Fanboy reached out to hug his Dad, but the man already got to him barely before he was out of his mother's arms.

"You guys are my parents," Fanboy said aloud, holding back tears, "and I forgive you, even if you weren't there for me. But I don't know what happens now, after all this. . ."

"Whatever you want, son," his father said. "You choose whether or not you want to see us again after this. You're almost a man, seventeen, it is your choice."

Fanboy, still so furious and overjoyed and sad, didn't hesitate for a minute. "Mom, Dad . . . can I have your phone numbers?"

* * *

~Later~

Fanboy didn't arrive home until late evening. He opened his door to find the living room lights still on, becoming frustrated at Chum Chum for leaving them on again, when he saw Yo sitting on the couch casually. It caught him by surprise, causing him to jump nearly out of his skin.

"Hey," she said to him softly, not puzzled by his startle. "How did the meet-up with your parents go?" She looked very interested, as she was in most things. Fanboy found that it was her lack of boredom was one of the reasons he'd liked her ever since they met.

"I'll tell you in a minute. How'd you know I was meeting up with my folks?"

Yo shrugged. "Chum Chum called me and told me when you texted him saying you were on your way back from seeing them. He's off at the Frosty Mart now. He was gonna pick up a movie and some snacks, come back for movie night, you know."

Fanboy smiled, even chuckled under his breath. He hadn't worn the costume in years, it tucked away in a box somewhere in his closet. He settled down this year for a simple green sweatshirt and a pair of baggy, ripped jeans. He had soft-colored brown hair that waved in all directions, freckles glazing across his cheeks and nose like sugar on a donut.

Slumping down on the couch, Fanboy let out a tired sigh, exhausted. All day he had talked with his parents, telling them everything and catching up with them. It was only at the end of the day that he realized how much he'd really missed them all this time. He felt a kind of fear when he left for home, as if he wouldn't see them again like nine years ago when the police took them away for abusing drugs, alcohol, and their own son.

"Soooo," Yo urged, placing a hand on his arm, "how was it? How were they?" Yo had always known Fanboy's parents were below average, but she still didn't known about the scars at all.

"To put it simply," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck, "we just talked and talked. They're not the junkies-slash-drunks they used to be. They've really cleaned themselves up, I guess."

"That's all, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Did they say sorry?"

"Yeah."

"Good. So I don't have to kick their asses." She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes hovering over her eyelids so beautifully. Fanboy looked down her face, his eyes landing on her lips. They were thin, soft, a straight line. They were just waiting to be kissed by him.

Suddenly Fanboy found himself shivering. It was all too much, life was too much. It sucked too much. Everything was just too much for him to withstand. He buried his face into his hands, feeling the tears threatening to come.

Yo heard the smack of his palms slapping his face, and popped her eyes open. She stared down at him and frowned, taking in the older, gruffer Fanboy than the one she used to know. There was a time when she was pretty sure he was suffering from depression, but she didn't know what to do at the time. Now she realized not doing anything at all made her look like a complete bitch in reality.

"You okay, Fanboy?" That was a pretty stupid question, but it made for conversation and would maybe lead to him coughing up some feelings for once.

Heart quickening, Fanboy found himself reaching the end of the road. He just saw his parents that he hadn't seen for nine years. He had been wishing to see them yet never wanting to see them again this entire time. He had a one-sided love that he didn't know how to balance. He had no security, no closure, no reassurance from anything. He found life dull and tasteless only just recently, like gum after chewing it for hours after there was no longer sweet flavor. He once thought of grabbing a knife from the kitchen and just . . . . _No_.

"Who am I?" he whispered to himself. It was like another person was asking it, so distant and far-off. "I don't know myself anymore." He began hiccupping, trying to hold back sobs as he covered his face with his arms now.

Yo put her hand on his back, she was trying to comfort him. Fanboy threw himself back, his head banging the back of the couch. Yo gasped loudly, pulling back at her friend's sudden outburst.

"Fanboy!" she exclaimed, hand over her mouth. "Tell me what's wrong! I can help you! Me and Chum Chum and even Kyle, we can all help you!"

Fanboy knew sanity wasn't measured.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" he screamed. It was so loud it left such an agonizing silence after it, making the air shake. "WHY DO YOU PRETEND LIKE YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT ME, HUH? I THOUGHT YOU LOVED CHUM CHUM SO GOD DAMN MUCH!"

"Fanboy . . ." Yo seemed to shrink into a ball, knees up to her skinny chest. "Please . . . stop, you're scaring me."

His face was warm, warmer suddenly, and he let out a deep breath that sent a rush through his head. Fanboy looked at the mirror he and Chum Chum had across the living room and stared: A crazy look was in his green eyes, his pupils like needle points. His hands were tangled in his hair, gripping his skull.

This was the look Dad always had when he hit Mom.

"Oh, God." As soon as he got a good look, Fanboy's shoulders sagged, and he sat down on the floor, feeling nothing but fear and guilt at his sudden behavior. "Oh, God, Yo. I'm so sorry for that."

She smiled nervously down at him from the couch. "It's alright. We all get a little angry like that sometimes. Don't worry about it."

Fanboy got himself back up and, when he sat back down on the couch, long arms wrapped around him. Again, he was caught completely off guard by something Yo had done. She put her face on his shoulder, her hands adjusting to his wiry frame.

"I love you just as much as I love Chum Chum."

Finally, after so many years of waiting, Fanboy's heart melted. It was hot and really took its appearance to his cheeks, but _damn_ did it feel good! This was what he'd needed for so long, so many years wasted for it all to sum up to this moment. A hug, that was all he ever needed, a hug. She loved him, she really, really loved him.

He felt five years old all over again, like she was still that little girl and he was still that little boy playing hide-and-seek at the park. It put everything into perspective: She loved him and he loved her, their friendship was set on fire.

"But I though you like-liked Chum Chum," he told her. He'd automatically put his arms around her too.

"He was just a crush, Fanboy." Her tone was almost humorous. "I was just a silly little girl back then. I'm almost a woman now, and I know what a real 'like' is and what's not, you know?"

They began rocking back and forth.

"I always did wonder why you paid more attention to him than me. Remember when we used to play together in the park so many years ago? You were my only friend before Chum Chum, and then it all just faded away, I guess."

"That happens," was her response. "Sometimes friendships last forever, and that happened to us, but I think what was wrong between us was because of me. I wanted Chum Chum to myself."

Fanboy laughed, hard. "Yeah, I remember keeping you back like a lion tamer to keep him safe from you!" And then they were both laughing, at something that wasn't really a joke more or less a memory. Somehow it reminded Fanboy of how his parents laughed at nothing . . .

"Chum Chum's probably going to be back soon." Yo intervened his thoughts, breaking away from him. It made him said; how could such a life-changing gesture end so suddenly?

"W-wait!" he said, reaching out his hand. "There's just something I need to do first . . ." Fanboy's voice drifted. He found he didn't fully believe he could just straight out kiss her. This was way harder than they pushed it to be in the romantic comedy movies that Yo made the four of them watch sometimes (Kyle appeared to like them very much).

"Yeah, what is that?" Yo asked. Her eyes were bright and shining again, her childish smile back. She noticed he was thinking hard over something and grew concerned again, flowing with frustration. Fanboy wasn't too good at making up his mind.

Suddenly Fanboy felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket: A text from Chum Chum. Fanboy flipped open the phone, and his eyes widened with fear and excitement at what his friend sent him:

**On my way back from the FM, be back in a few :)**

Okay, it was now or never, literally. Too much procrastination had been going on. Getting up in one swift movement almost six feet tall, Fanboy strode up to Yo and leaned, putting his mouth on hers.

Now she was the one caught off guard.

Yo didn't object or push away, but she was pretty embarrassed. She was sure she'd either explode or just melt completely she was blushing so much. Jeez, love _was_ friendship set on fire! They had probably ten minutes tops before Chum Chum got back.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Yo happily kissed him back. His lips were so warm, they were soft as marshmallows. She wondered what he thought about her lips, but her mind was so set up into fireworks right now that she couldn't concentrate on that thought. All she thought about was how much she was loving this.

Fanboy himself felt like he was set on fire. Her mouth was sweet, like melted sugar. They would probably set the whole house to flames if they got any hotter. For years everything seemed so cold, and it was only because of the friends Fanboy had that kept his heart from freezing completely.

Time seemed to go faster when you kissed someone and chemistry pretty much exploded, because after what felt like a minute, Chum Chum walked right in on the scene.

He was carrying some grocery bags, held in his muscular arms like a typical woman would. He jumped back at the sight of his best friend making out with the girl who said he was the cutest guy she ever met. It was pretty weird in his opinion, and he was blushing with embarrassment. It wasn't until he heard a moan that he muttered, "Uh, hey?"

Fanboy and Yo separated, their faces a deep crimson, the same shade of red. Awkward silence pulsed throughout the room. And then a knowing smirk came into Chum Chum's round face, and Fanboy felt shrinking into the corner suddenly.

"Sheesh," Chum Chum laughed, "if you guys wanted some alone time, you could have just asked me." He continued to laugh. Chum Chum had a very loud laugh, it always boomed so loud that every time it thumped Yo's ribcage. She fiddled lamely with the trim of her skirt, looking very flushed.

"D-did you get the stuff for movie night?" Fanboy asked, his voice rising , trying to change the atmosphere. Chum Chum only laughed louder, walking blindly to the kitchen and placing the groceries on the table. "Wh-what kind of movie did you get?"

"Pfft. Yo asked for a ROMANTIC COMEDY!" After another long silence filled with confused faces, they were both suffering from cramping ribs as they laughed about the Fanlair. They grabbed onto their sides, falling to the floor in laughter. Yo stared at them. She smiled. Yep, those were just like her two boys.

"How about we invite Kyle over too?" she pondered. After agreement she texted him and he was over from a teleportation spell faster than one could say 'raspberry flan' when he heard it was another romantic comedy for movie night. It was a school night, but Kyle would never pass up a chance to see a movie like this, but he also secretly liked to hang out with Fanboy, Chum Chum and Yo.

As they all settled down with popcorn, chocolate and candy for the movie, Fanboy looked about his two friends and his obviously to-be girlfriend. His heart throbbed with gratitude and love, and he realized that he truly had the best friends any guy could ever ask for.

He knew it would now be okay to tell them about the scars, because no matter what, from now on, his heart would never feel like it was in a freezer again. But not now, right now he had a chance to feel happy again, after such a long time.

And being Fanboy, he never passed up the opportunity to spend time with the people who mattered to him most; his friends.

* * *

**_THE END_**

* * *

**Okayyyyy, this is over yaaaaayyyyy! This is the first sad fiction I've ever written. Well, more so an attempt at a sad fic. What do you guys think? Did I bring some tears to your eyes? ;_;**

**Anyway, I thought of this mainly because Fanboy is my favorite character. I love everything about him: his voice, his character design, his optimistic yet sympathetic personality, he's just so lovable. So I took that concept of him being so comforting to others when they're sad and concluded that he does this because he was obviously hurt emotionally in his younger years. I've been reading about human psychology and I've figured out that people who've had problems in their young years sometimes end up helping other people with theirs because they don't want those other people to hurt like they did. It only makes sense. **

**I like the thought of Nickelodeon making an episode or showing some kind of time skip with the costumes off. How I described Fanboy is on my belief. Most seem to think he has black hair, and maybe that's what staff said at Comic-Con or something, but I don't like that concept. He just doesn't seem right-lookin' with black hair. Also, this is the longest one-shot I've ever written, woo-hoo!**

**C'mon, press that favorite button, you know you want to -U-**

**Anyway, R&R please! **

**Taka Out~030**


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